Happy Monday!

7:30am

Although today is a rainy start to the week, I have such high aspirations, it’s amazing!  

Last night, I feel as if I really faced some feats!  I didn’t get as much work done as I would have liked to, however, I walked 3 1/2 miles after tutoring, while there was a break in the rain.  Then I got home, ate and relaxed.  I didn’t allow myself to get sucked into my tv shows or the couch, and got up after an hour to cook my weekly lunch of stuffed peppers and cut up veggies for snacks, and wash dishes.  About 5, all of this was done, and I knew I should have gotten to work with other things, but I just needed to get out of the house.  I threw on jeans and a fleece, with my awesome fingerless batman gloves and took off.  I was headed for the river, for a sentimental thinking session, when I bumped into a friend halfway there.  He walked with me the rest of the way, just as we arrived, it started to pour!  What a sign it was for me!  We walked to the bus stop in the pouring rain.  By the time I got off the bus, I was soaked and cold.  But, nevertheless, I walked another 3 miles and didn’t sit around and eat.  I am beginning to really be proactive about a healthy lifestyle, I would rather take a walk than eat and sit on the couch for hours. My lifestyle is coming back and so is the positive mood.

Today I am prepared to do well… I packed my food and my gym bag.

7:30pm
As this afternoon comes to a close, I did well this morning and will push through this evening. Today was pretty good. I was hungry, but didn’t go overboard.

For Breakfast, I made my egg white muffins on Saturday. In my muffin tins, I sprayed all the sides, and added diced red pepper and grated zucchini. Then I filled to almost the brim, Egg Beater’s egg whites, which was about 3-4 tablespoons. Then I baked them for 25 minutes on 350 degrees. I ate this with my coffee and a grapefruit. It was delicious, but I need to add some more sustenance next time I make them, maybe adding a deli meat cup prior to adding the other ingrediants.

For Lunch, I wanted to try something new, using veggies and protein. I decided on stuffed peppers. To do this, Yesterday I cooked up almost a pound and a half of ground turkey, to this I added a package of mushrooms and a jalapeno I diced up and a can of diced seasoned tomatoes. While this was cooking, I cut the stems out of 6 green peppers, pulled out the center and seeds. Then I stuffed 1/2 cup of the mixture into each pepper, and baked in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Once slightly cooled, I placed each pepper in a container with some extra meat. Finally I topped this with an ounce of goat cheese. When I ate this for lunch, I was completely satisfied and content.

11:30pm
After staff meeting today, I headed to a union meeting that interested me. I got there and a buffet was spread out for us. It looked delicious. I was hungry, and chose to eat pineapple, grapes, and tomatoes with a few small slices of cheese. I passed the chicken wings, the saucy meatballs, cookies, sauces and other condiments. I left full and ready for class.

After class, I wanted to just go home and relax. I texted my friends, who have become my new support system and was encouraged to head to the gym, no matter how much I didn’t want to go. I realized that I think I was scared to go back. I want to be where I was last year when I stopped working out, but haven ‘t been to the gym in months! I took the advice of my friend and completed a short workout. It was surreal walking back into the gym, being absent for so long, but the routine flowed right back. I hopped on the elliptical for 30 minutes, completing 12:12 minute miles, then stretched for 20 minutes. I forced myself to keep going through the hard times, but I also remembered how good working out feels when I was on that elliptical. I will be going back and continuing to workout, tone and lose.

When I got home, I ate a quick stew I threw together this weekend, including kale, a can of chick peas, and a can of peeled tomatoes. Then I topped it with avacado. It was good.

Tomorrow I weigh in, and am excited! I actually feel like my efforts are starting to pay off and I want to just keep going. And for now, bed!